Plane crashes in Suriname with 20 aboard

A plane crashed in a remote gold-mining area of Suriname with about 20 people aboard, radio stations in the small South American country reported on Thursday.

Authorities could not immediately be reached for comment on the reports, which said the plane was run by local airline Blue Wing Airlines in the former Dutch colony that lies on the eastern shoulder of South America on the Atlantic coast.

The six-year-old airline is based in the capital Paramaribo and has 10 aircraft, including twin-engine 18-seater Antonov planes, according to a company profile on its Web site www.bluewingairlines.com.

The reports said it was an Antonov that crashed in the south of the country in the area of Benzdorp and that the military was headed to the site.

Suriname has a population of around 500,000 and its economy is based mainly on mining. The south of the country is a sparsely populated area of rainforests and savanna. (Reuters)